


Wreaths of Roses and Garlands of Flowers

by TheFandomLesbian



Series: Spencer's Raulson One-Shots [47]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: Asylum, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Wintersday, raulson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFandomLesbian/pseuds/TheFandomLesbian
Summary: Misty has battled with herself and her cabin fever all winter since she came with Lana to Boston. Lana gives her permission to makeover the yard, but neither of them are very happy with the results.
Relationships: Misty Day/Lana Winters
Series: Spencer's Raulson One-Shots [47]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1214643
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Wreaths of Roses and Garlands of Flowers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [echoesout](https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoesout/gifts).



> For a WintersDay dialogue prompt: "Don't touch me, we're fighting!"

“For by my side you put on  many wreaths of roses  and garlands of flowers  around your soft neck.  And with precious and royal perfume,  you anointed yourself.  On soft beds you satisfied your passion.  And there was no dance,  no holy place,  from which we were absent.” -Sappho

...

Bostonian spring was cold and came far too late for Misty, whose cabin fever had driven her to the point of insanity. She  _ hated _ Boston. She had hated it before, when she had arrived with Lana in the early autumn, but at least then, there had been some hope of hiking and camping and escaping the grotesque city and its disgusting smells and the soot and ash flowing through the air freely. Winter had made Boston even more repugnant to Misty. 

If she didn’t love Lana so much, she would have hitchhiked herself back to New Orleans in less than six months. But she did love Lana so much, so she suffered in silence, her magic building and twitching inside of her from lack of use, her irritability burbling up to the surface in the middle of the night when the noise pollution refused to let her sleep. Misty kept telling herself she would be happy here, eventually, as long as she was with Lana… That was what she had told herself when Lana asked her to get into her car and ride more than fifteen hundred miles up the east coast, ripping up her entire life for a love she had never known before. As long as she was with Lana, she could be satisfied. She just had to get used to it. 

She wasn’t used to it, though. She loathed it. She loathed the cars and the exhaust and the asphalt. She loathed the barren, cultured grass, nothing but an environmental waste, and she loathed the fake decor and poor landscaping. But more than anything, she loathed the people. 

In fact, Misty was quite convinced that Lana Winters was the only good, honest, decent, loving person in the entire city of Boston. 

Lana knew none of this. Misty kept her misery to herself, though she did share it with her three-legged squirrel, Big Red, who rode about on her shoulders day after miserable day indoors. And when the springtime sunlight finally breached the forlorn gray clouds over the city, Misty perked up in spite of the chill. “Hey,” she greeted Lana the same day that the sun came out, “do you think I can plant a garden?” 

Lana looked at her. “Well--yeah, sure. Do whatever you want in the yard. Less to mow.”  _ Ugh. Mowing.  _ Misty couldn’t believe people just threw away perfectly good grass also while pitching pollutants out into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate. “But, um, I don’t know how much work you want to spend on the whole reviving thing. There’s still a chance we can get more snow this year. I don’t want you to be disappointed if a frost kills off everything you planted.”

_ Snow? It’s mid-April! _ “I’ll take my chances.” Misty knew she could bring everything back. The months of disuse for her powers had not caused them to atrophy, but rather had built them up stronger than ever before. Armed with a hoe, a shovel, a water pail, and some seeds and saplings, Misty headed outside before the crack of dawn the next day. Maybe she couldn’t be happy in Boston, but perhaps she could bring enough of the swamp to the city so she could have a smidgen of peace. 

Still under the cover of darkness, Misty worked with her magic when she trusted no one could see. She could dig and hoe at the same time with her telekinesis. The ugly, metropolitan shrubs she pulled up. “Compost these.” She stripped all the ugly, pebble landscaping from around Lana’s house. Nothing healthy could ever possibly grow in such harsh, unforgiving conditions. Once the rocks were stripped, Misty dug along the side of the house first… and then she gradually worked her way out into the rest of the yard.  _ Let me plant some things I can eat.  _ Misty hated eating out of a can. She needed to grow her own vegetables. But she would make it beautiful, too, for Lana to enjoy.  _ Maybe in a few months, when these saplings are large enough, I can build a treehouse for us to climb in.  _ Everything smaller she could bring to fruition in a few short hours, but the trees would take longer. Even with all of her strength, she did not think she could grow the vast oaks to the size she wanted them to accommodate a treehouse in a day. 

Misty slaved over her craft. Big Red chittered, resting on the gutter as he watched her work. She lined the house with her own bushes--blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry, strawberry, cranberry. Further out, she had all of her vegetables--the squash, the tomato, the pepper, the carrots, the potatoes, several stalks of corn. She planted oak saplings for Big Red when they grew large enough to produce acorns, a dogwood tree for Lana who adored their beautiful white flowers, and she lined every path with sweet-smelling, natural growing flowers.  _ Lana doesn’t want to mow--she’ll never have to mow again!  _ Anything Misty pulled up that she could not make use of went into the compost pile.  _ I’ll get us some worms and really get that compost going.  _ The earth was barren of worms, as well, but she could fix that soon enough. 

As the day wore on, her blossoms opened. The space from garden to garden was just wide enough for them to walk through.  _ The grass won’t grow here if I throw down some mulch and keep it tramped down. No need for the mower anymore.  _ Misty despised the sound and smell of a lawnmower. If she could keep Lana from mowing, they would both be extremely happy. 

She crawled into bed that night, long after dark, freshly showered and clean. Lana rolled over. “Hey, bear.” Her hands curled into Misty’s hair, still wet from the shower. “I missed you… You were outside all day. Must be a nice garden.” She kissed Misty on the lips. Misty spooned up behind her like a happy cat. “You can show me tomorrow. How long til we have some tomatoes?” 

“Not long,” Misty promised. She kissed Lana’s neck and tickled her tummy, forcing her to squirm and giggle with delight. “I’ve got you.” 

Lana hummed happily. “I’m so glad you’re feeling like yourself again.” She peeked back at Misty. “I was starting to worry the winter was wearing you down.”

Misty sighed.  _ Maybe I wasn’t as discreet as I wanted to be. _ “It was. But I’m feeling a lot better now.” 

Lana snuggled up against her and bid her goodnight. Misty’s exhausted body held her warm and near, and for the first time since she had come to Boston, she slept all the way through the night without the sounds of the trains or the vehicles outside disturbing her slumber. 

The next morning, Misty rolled out of bed with Big Red tangled up in her hair and found Lana on the couch sipping her coffee in front of the television. “Morning, cityslicker,” Misty teased as she came up the hall. She sank onto the couch beside Lana. “What are your plans for the day?” She ran her hand down one of Lana’s legs, and at the summoning, Lana turned her body and placed both of her feet in Misty’s lap. 

Misty began to rub her feet. “Well,” Lana said, “I gotta run some errands. The weather says we’re officially out of snow for the season, so I better stop by the gas station and pick up a gallon of gas for the mower. It’ll just be a week or two before they’re making me mow it.” 

Shaking her head, Misty said, “Uh-uh,” as she rubbed Lana’s feet with her thumbs. 

Lana’s brows quirked. “What do you mean,  _ uh-uh? _ ” 

Innocent blue eyes flicked up to Lana. “You told me you didn’t like to mow, so I fixed the yard so we won’t have to mow anymore. No more wasted space. I’m just gonna throw some mulch down on the trails--”

“ _ Trails? _ ” Lana questioned. “Misty, my yard is less than two acres! What exactly did you do to it?” 

_ She sounds angry.  _ “You said you didn’t want to mow anymore and I should do whatever I wanted with the yard. So I ripped out all the landscaping--”

“You did  _ what? _ ”

Misty’s defenses rose. “It was ugly! Nothing could grow in those pebbles. I laid natural bushes instead--ones that make fruit, that are good for the environment and will benefit the wildlife!” 

“What wildlife? This is the middle of the city! Any wildlife that comes into our yard is going to get flattened!” Lana rolled off the couch and ran to the front door. “Holy  _ shit! _ ” she gasped as she stared out of the front of the house. The morning sun shed light on all of the dewy flowers and leaves and bushes. “We have to take it all down.” 

“We  _ what? _ ” Misty snapped. “No way! I worked all day on making it beautiful! I’m not killing everything I just brought to life!” Lana stepped out of the house. Her bare feet touched the beautiful, freshly stirred earth, leaving slight footprints in their wake, and the low bushes and flowers brushed her ankles and left water trickling down them. “Why are you making such a big deal out of this? You told me to do whatever I wanted with the yard, so I did!”

“I thought you were going to plant a handful of tomatoes and some squash and maybe some pretty flowers, not recreate the Okefenokee swamp! The city is going to send us notices for looking overgrown and unkempt!” 

Heat burned Misty’s face. “Overgrown and unkempt, my ass! It’s beautiful!” she snapped. “All I did was try to make it beautiful for  _ you! _ I planted tomatoes because you always say you hate the ones out of a can! I planted potatoes because you hate buying them by the bag, I planted wild blackberries because you like that they have seeds the ones in the store don’t! I planted blanketflowers because they remind me of your eyes, bluebells and merry bells because you have that portrait in our room that you like, dayflowers and blue morning glories because that’s your favorite color to wear because you think it makes you look thinner even though I know you’re beautiful in any color! I planted a dogwood tree because you said it’s your favorite tree and you told me the old fable that Jesus’s cross was made from the dogwood tree! And I planted some sunflowers to grow so I can braid them in your hair on the days you’re so miserable and I’m not able to cheer you up!”

“Bullshit, you did it for you! You’ve spent all winter moping and whining and now you’re trying to get a little piece of the wilderness in the city!”

“Yes!” Misty’s whole body grew hot. Big Red jumped off her shoulders as her skin became too hot to touch, driven by her rage. The squirrel ran to Lana and scampered up her leg. “Yes! You’re right! I fucking hate it here, Lana! I can’t sleep at night! It’s too loud! It smells like chemical warfare! Your neighbors all have sour, angry faces, and the grass is sterile, and the soil doesn’t have any earthworms! This place  _ sucks! _ And I am  _ trying _ to be happy here, because this is where  _ you are _ , and you’re all I ever wanted! But the water that comes out of the tap tastes like metal, and every day that I spend here in this hellscape, I feel myself hating it  _ more and more!  _ So god forbid I should plant some flowers in the yard where I live, so maybe I can walk outside without wondering if I made a mistake by coming here at all!” 

A black car parked in front of Lana’s house. A man rolled down the window and stuck his camera out it, beginning to snap pictures. Lana turned on her heel, attention suddenly stripped from Misty, but as she approached the car to reprimand the photographer, Misty stormed right past her. She strode powerfully, her hands balled into tight fists and the magic crackling around her--only Lana could see, but she knew it was dangerous enough. “Misty,” Lana cautioned.  _ Oh, god, Misty, don’t! _ She trotted after her. “Misty!” 

Misty slammed both hands against the door of the car. The driver flinched back away from her. He reached to roll up the window, but with a flick of Misty’s eyes, the handle snapped off. Lana jogged up beside her, watching as Misty glowered directly into the man’s eyes. “You do not know who we are. You did not take any pictures of us. You will not come back here again. And so help me god, if you do, you can compost my goddamn flowerbeds.” The man had a blank stare…  _ She’s controlling him,  _ Lana realized with some horror. She had forgotten Misty could do that. He blinked a few times, as if shaking himself, and then pulled back onto the road and drove away. 

But the speed with which Misty whirled upon her indicated the fight was not over. “What?” she snarled. “I can take care of myself.” 

“I know--”  _ It was him I was worried about.  _ “I was afraid you would blow up the car.” She measured her words as she spoke them, patient and slow, trying to remain calm.  _ I had no idea she was so miserable here.  _ Lana licked her lips. “I didn’t want you to do anything rash.” 

Misty’s eyes flashed, glossed over with tears which did not shed. “Of course. You think I’m too goddamn stupid to have any decision-making skills. You think I would put you in danger because I can’t think for two seconds to realize that blowing up a car in the middle of your residential suburban America hell is a bad idea.” 

“That is  _ not _ what I said--Misty, come back!” Misty was already walking away from her. Lana steadied Big Red on her shoulder, grabbing Misty by the hand. “Ow!” She jerked her hand away. Misty’s skin was hot to the touch, like a pan on the stove. “What the hell?”

“Don’t touch me! We’re fighting!” Misty’s voice had gone from furious to shrill. She thundered into the house, and as Lana fought to keep up with her, she walked faster, entering the bathroom and slamming the door shut firmly behind her. 

The sound of the lock clicking into place finalized it for Lana, though she still tried to turn the knob a couple of times. “Misty!” She pressed her ear to the door. She could hear nothing but Misty’s uneven breathing.  _ She’s crying.  _ Lana only seen Misty cry once since they met. The knowledge that she had hurt Misty so deeply wounded her soul. “Misty… I’m sorry I upset you. I’ll apply for a permit to certify the yard as a wildlife habitat, so we won’t have to take it down.”  _ It will be nice not to have to mow. _ Big Red teetered on her shoulder, clasping her hair with his front paws. “I’m so sorry you’re unhappy. I didn’t know… I thought it was just some cabin fever.” She leaned against the door with one hand pressed flat against it. “I’ll start looking for somewhere else for us to live. Somewhere outside the city, where we can have some room and some quiet.” The days Lana had spent in the swamp with Misty had been among the most miserable in her life--and she included Briarcliff and Thredson in that mix, the swamp had been  _ that bad. _ But they had to find a middle ground. She couldn’t lose Misty… Not after Wendy. She couldn’t endure that heartache again, knowing she had lost the one she loved and it was her fault. 

Lana sighed, leaning against the door, losing hope that Misty was going to let her in. “We can take time this summer to go back… if you want. I know that’s not the safest place in the world for you, but if you’d like to go, we can go. I trust you can protect us.” She chewed her lower lip. “Once it’s a little warmer, we can go camping…” She wasn’t hitting any of Misty’s buttons well enough to get her to open back up.  _ She’s pissed at me.  _ She had every right to be. “I don’t think you’re stupid,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry if I ever act like that. I know--I  _ know _ you aren’t well-educated, but that doesn’t mean you’re stupid. I only thought you were going to blow up the car because that’s what I would’ve wanted to do, if I were you. I know you would never do anything to put us in danger.” She cleared her throat. “I know all of this is new to you. And I know you’re trying. I’m trying, too. I need you to talk to me… That’s the only way I can make things better.” 

A long, silent moment passed before the lock clicked again, and the bathroom door inched open. Behind it, Misty stood, stony-faced, her blue eyes rimmed in red. Lana’s eyes fluttered wide eagerly, opening her arms, but she hesitated before hugging her; she didn’t want to be burned again. Misty opened her arms in return, and Lana sank into her hug. She flung her arms tightly around Misty’s neck and buried her face into the crook. Misty squeezed her, her arms folding protectively around Lana’s back. “I’m sorry I burned you,” Misty mumbled in her thick voice, still a little teary. “It was an accident.” 

“Oh, bear, I know,” Lana whispered. “I know you would never hurt me on purpose.” She tucked a lock of hair behind Misty’s head. “I’m sorry I yelled at you… I was overreacting.” She swallowed hard. “You know change is hard for me, without Wendy.” Some part of her still wanted to leave everything the way it was when Wendy had died. Slowly but surely, Misty was teaching her to move on… But sometimes, it all came back, the fear that once she had lost the last remnants of Wendy, she would never get her back. “But that doesn’t give me any right to take it out on you. Especially when I told you to do whatever you wanted… I didn’t realize we had two very different ideas of what a garden is.” 

Misty ducked her head, snorting in spite of herself. “I should have clarified,” she mumbled. “You complained about mowing… and I  _ hate _ lawnmowers.” She shuddered as she said the word. Pity leapt through Lana’s heart. “I thought I would make it easier for us by making something beautiful. Make it a little less awful here.” 

Lana caressed Misty’s cheek. “There is nothing you can do to this place, or to me, to make me love you less.” 

Misty leaned into her embrace, kissing the inside of her wrist. “I would live the rest of my life in this hell hole if it meant I got to be with you.” 

A tender smile touched Lana’s face. “It was very thoughtful of you to plant that garden… I didn’t realize you could do so much in just a day.”  _ She planted everything thinking of me.  _ Oh, that stung Lana’s insides now, how she had hurled it back in Misty’s face in a fit of rage. “I’d like to walk out and look at it now, if you’ll show me.”

A calloused hand touched the small of Lana’s back. “Of course,” she whispered. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to Lana’s lips, and Lana closed her eyes as the magic surrounded her. 


End file.
